The Trebnitz–Leipzig railway is a double track electrified main line in the German states of
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
and
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
built and originally operated by the
Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company The Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company ( German: ''Berlin-Anhaltische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', BAE) was a railway company in Prussia. The railway connection between Berlin and Köthen, built by the BAE, was one of the first long-distance railways in G ...
. It formally starts at Trebnitz on the former border between the
Duchy of Anhalt
The Duchy of Anhalt (german: Herzogtum Anhalt) was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the river Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House ...
and
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
and runs via
Dessau
Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...
and
Delitzsch
Delitzsch (; Slavic: ''delč'' or ''delcz'' for hill) is a town in Saxony in Germany, 20 km north of Leipzig and 30 km east of Halle (Saale). With 24,850 inhabitants at the end of 2015, it is the largest town in the district of Nordsach ...
to
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
. The section from
Bitterfeld
Bitterfeld () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Halle (S ...
to Leipzig is part of
Line 1 of the
Trans-European Transport Networks
The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is a planned network of roads, railways, airports and water infrastructure in the European Union. The TEN-T network is part of a wider system of Trans-European Networks (TENs), including a telecommunic ...
(TEN-T). Until 1871, the Zerbst–Roßlau section was called the ''Anhaltische Leopoldsbahn'' (Anhalt Leopold's railway).
History
Planning and Construction
The ''Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company'' (german: Berlin-Anhaltische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) was for more than four decades in the 19th century one of the major railway companies in Germany. It built during this period a network of major rail links between
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and the northern part of the
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...
and the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n
Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg.
It was formed by the merge ...
and the
Duchy of Anhalt
The Duchy of Anhalt (german: Herzogtum Anhalt) was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the river Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House ...
, including the
Anhalt trunk line.
Its trunk line ran from Berlin via
Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...
and
Dessau
Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...
to
Köthen, where it connected with the
Magdeburg-Leipzig line to
Halle and Leipzig. In order to shorten the route to Halle and Leipzig, the company built direct lines from Dessau via Bitterfeld to Leipzig and Halle in the late 1850s. The section from Dessau to Bitterfeld was opened on 17 August 1857. This was followed by the opening of the sections from Bitterfeld to both Halle and Leipzig on 1 February 1859. A shorter line was opened between Berlin to Leipzig on a direct route between Wittenberg and Bitterfeld on 3 August 1859.
The parliament of the Duchy of Anhalt decided to build a 13 km long railway from Roßlau to
Zerbst
Zerbst () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until an administrative reform in 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the former Anhalt-Zerbst district.
Geography
Zerbst is situated in the Anhalt-Wittenberg regio ...
to connect Zerbst to the fast-growing rail network. This was opened on 1 November 1863. The line was operated by the Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company. It acquired the railway on 1 October 1871 for one million
marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members
* Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...
and extended it from 1 July 1874 to the Anhalt–Prussian border at Trebnitz. At the same time the
Berlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg Railway Company (''Potsdam-Magdeburger Eisenbahngesellschaft'') opened it line from the border to Biederitz, which was already connected by the
Berlin–Potsdam–Magdeburg Railway to
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
.
A passenger train and a locomotive collided at a Rackwitz on 21 June 1871. 19 people died and 56 others were injured.
Electrification
The Magdeburg–Dessau–Leipzig–Halle axis was one of the first mainline to be electrified with low-frequency, single phase power. The
Prussian state railways
The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...
preferred to electrify the
Euskirchen–Trier and the
Altona-Kiel lines, but the army command had objections in both cases. In addition,
lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
deposits in the area meant that a power station with short supply routes could be constructed at Muldenstein. Construction on the Muldenstein railway power station started on 18 January 1910 and about two months later the construction of a substation in Bitterfeld and the erection of overhead contact wire for the first section from Dessau to Bitterfeld began.
The state police approved the power supply and contact line systems on 4 January 1911 and trial operations with a voltage of 5 kV and a supply line voltage of 30 kV began on 18 January 1911 using a borrowed
Baden State Railways
The Grand Duchy of Baden was an independent state in what is now southwestern Germany until the creation of the German Empire in 1871. It had its own state-owned railway company, the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways (''Großherzoglich Badische ...
class A1 locomotive, which had previously had test runs on the
Ammergau Railway
The Ammergau Railway or ''Ammergaubahn'' (sometimes called the ''Ammertalbahn'' or "Ammer Valley Railway", originally the ''Lokalbahn Murnau–Oberammergau'') is a single-tracked, electrified railway line in Bavaria in southern Germany. It runs fr ...
with transformers suitable for 5.5 kV. After increasing the supply line voltage to the designated 60 kV, the catenary voltage was increased to 10 kV for test runs on 25 March and permanent on 28 March the newly built WSL 10502 HALLE and WGL 10204 HALLE locomotives could be reach their full traction effort. On 1 April, the line was opened for public operations by the Prussian Minister
Paul von Breitenbach
Paul Justin von Breitenbach (16 April 1850 – 10 March 1930) was a Prussian politician and railway planner.
Breitenbach was central to the building of the underground in Berlin, specifically the line between the city center and Berlin-Dahlem ...
in the presence of members of parliament.
After the “Convention relating to the implementation of electric traction" was established by the state railway administrations of
Prussia-Hesse,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
and
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
in 1912, it was agreed in the autumn of 1913 that a voltage of 15 kV and frequency of 16 2/3 Hz would be adopted. In order to extend electrified service to the south, a sub-station was put into operation on 1 May 1914 in Wahren along with a 60 kV feeder line. By 1 June 1914, electric rail operations had been extended to Neuwiederitzsch and beyond to parts of the
Leipzig freight ring, but after the outbreak of the First World War it was closed in the first few days of August 1914 so that the materials could be completely recovered. According to Tetzlaff, the whole line to Leipzig Hauptbahnhof was taken into operation by electric traction in June 1914, but this is considered unlikely.
At the beginning of the twenties, the electrification was initially restored between Leipzig and Dessau and soon extended over the whole line towards Magdeburg. To ensure the power supply, another substation was built in
Marke.
After the Second World War
After the end of World War II, the most urgent war damage was eliminated and electric operations resumed, but it had to be abandoned in March 1946. The infrastructure was abruptly dismantled and delivered together with the locomotives to the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
as
war reparations
War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war.
History
Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history.
R ...
. After the return of the electrification equipment in 1952 the line was electrified for a third time. The contact wire between Bitterfeld and Meinsdorf (Roßlau freight yard) was completed on 15 March 1958 and between Leipzig and Bitterfeld on 9 July 1958. For the connection to Magdeburg, the route via Köthen to Halle was more important, so that the line northwest of Roßlau was not initially electrified.
In 1962, the Bitterfeld–Delitzsch section was moved to allow the development of a new open pit mine at Holzweißig-West, extending its length by 1498 metres and Petersroda station was rebuilt.
Federal highway 184 was rebuilt parallel to the line.
From 1 January 1955 to 1 January 1977, the section north of Haideburg yard belonged to ''Reichsbahndirektion'' (
railway division) Halle, subsequently the border with the area of ''Reichsbahndirektion Magdeburg'' corresponded again with the boundary of the
district of Magdeburg at Neeken. The second track was restored in the 1970s to the northwest of Roßlau in the district of Magdeburg. For unknown reasons the track was not restored in the area of the
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of Halle, so
points had to be installed at Neeken. The line was then re-electrified. The overhead wire was completed on 4 October 1974 between Roßlau and Zerbst and the remaining section between Zerbst and Magdeburg Neustadt was completed on 15 April 1975. Preparations were made for the overhead wire for the missing second track between Neeken and Roßlau freight yard, but the section remained single track. Although the missing track was relaid in 1990, two-track operations were not introduced because the points at the junctions had not been modified for two-track operations.
[ (loose-leaf collection)]
In long-distance traffic between Berlin and Leipzig, the section between Bitterfeld and Leipzig–together with the line from Bitterfeld to Halle–was the busiest in the
GDR. They were served by express trains via Leipzig to
Zwickau
Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...
and
Aue
Aue may refer to:
* Aue (toponymy), a frequent element in German toponymy meaning "wetland; river island; river"
Places
* Aue, Saxony, a mining town in Saxony, Germany
* Aue (Samtgemeinde), a collective municipality in Uelzen District, Lower Sax ...
and to
Gera
Gera is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of cit ...
and
Saalfeld
Saalfeld (german: Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the S ...
. Trains also ran over the network of
Deutsche Reichsbahn
The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
from Berlin to
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...
and
Rostock
Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...
to
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. In addition, one or two pairs of express ran daily from Leipzig to Magdeburg and continued towards
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. Trains ran towards the
Berlin outer ring
The Berlin outer ring (german: Berliner Außenring, BAR) is a long double track electrified railway, originally built by the German Democratic Republic to bypass West Berlin in preparation for the building of the Berlin Wall during the division o ...
via Dessau, especially unscheduled services, seasonal trains and transit trains (which did not stop in East Germany) between West Berlin and
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
From 1976, the line was included in Deutsche Reichsbahn’s new ''Städteexpress'' ("city express") network.
List of Städteexpress (Ex) services on the line (as of 31 May 1991)
*Ex 100/107 ''Elstertal'': Gera–Leipzig–Berlin
*Ex 160/167 ''Sachsenring'': Zwickau–Berlin
*Ex 151/156 ''Berliner Bär'': Berlin–Leipzig–Erfurt
*Ex 162/163 ''Thomaner'': Leipzig–Berlin
*Ex 166/161 ''Lipsia'': Leipzig–Berlin
After 1990
![EW 60-16000-6100](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/EW_60-16000-6100.jpg)
Following the
reunification of Germany
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
the section from Leipzig to Bitterfeld became less important at first; the ''Städteexpress'' trains were abandoned on 31 May 1991 and replaced by
Intercity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
and
InterRegio services. Later a regular-interval timetable was introduced. The scheduled travel time between Leipzig and Berlin was around two and a half hours in 1990.
As of the summer 1992 timetable, long-distance line 8 service ran every two hours from Bitterfeld to Leipzig on the Berlin–Leipzig–Nuremberg–Munich route. From 1997 to 1999, this service ran via
Berlin-Wannsee
Wannsee () is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger ''Großer Wannsee'' (Greater Wannsee, "See" means lake) and the ...
and Dessau. After the service returned to running via
Lutherstadt Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...
, Dessau initially received in its place
InterRegio 36 services running between
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
and
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
running through Bitterfeld and Halle. In addition, from 1994, there was a single daily InterRegio service running from northwest Germany via Magdeburg, Dessau and Leipzig through Saxony and eastern Thuringia with a stop in Zerbst. During the night, a train ran, depending on the timetable period, from Berlin via Dessau with destinations in Switzerland, Northern Italy or Hungary.
In 1991, upgrading of the line from Berlin to Halle and Leipzig commenced as part of the German Unity Transport Projects: rail project 8.3.
In the same year, work began at the section between Bitterfeld and Delitzsch, followed in 1992 by work between Zschortau and Delitzsch. The upgrading of the entire 27.5 km section for 160 km/h was estimated to cost 340 million
Deutsche Mark
The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...
s in early 1993.
The development of the line between Leipzig and Bitterfeld was carried in a total of ten sections. At this time the line between Delitzsch and Zschortau was upgraded for a length of 2.2 km.
In the mid-1990s, the upgrade was sufficiently advanced for speeds on a section of it to be raised to a maximum of 160 km/h. Further work was required for the raising of speeds to 200 km/h, in particular the elimination of many level crossings. Completion of this work in 1999, at a cost of 3.5 billion marks, cut the travel time between Halle/Leipzig and Berlin to under an hour.
Various improvements had been made to the line, including the eliminating of all crossings and the modernisation of all stations. A radio-based
train protection system
A train protection system is a railway technical installation to ensure safe operation in the event of human error.
Development
Train stops
The earliest systems were train stops, as still used by the New York City Subway, the Toronto subway, t ...
was installed.
A timetable change in May 2006 raised speeds largely to 200 km/h on the upgraded section of the line between Bitterfeld and Leipzig.
The upgrade of the Berlin–Bitterfeld–Leipzig line allowed the operation of
ICE T
DBAG Class 411 and Class 415 are German tilting electric multiple-unit high-speed trains in service with DB Fernverkehr, commonly known as ICE T.
Development
Following the successful inauguration of the Intercity-Express system in 199 ...
tilting trains on IC line 8 from December 2002. In 2005 and 2006, the line from Bitterfeld to Leipzig was upgraded for operations of up to 200 km/h. A total of €1.657 billion was invested in the upgrade of line between Halle, Leipzig and Berlin up to the end of 2013.
A curve directly connecting
Leipzig/Halle Airport
Leipzig/Halle Airport (German: ''Flughafen Leipzig/Halle'') is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt.
It is Germany's 14th largest airport by passengers and ...
and the line to the north towards Berlin was contemplated but rejected in 2010.
The
Elbe floods of 2002 significantly damaged an already weakened section of the bridge over the
Mulde
The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long.
The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (with ...
between Roßlau and Dessau. Subsequently the embankment and all the bridges were rebuilt from 2008 to 2011 just to the east of the old line and the old works were then dismantled.
Subsequently since 2009 there has been a comprehensive renovation, including a major reconstruction of the track and overhead line equipment of the Roßlau/Dessau railway node. The first section rebuilt covered the line from Dessau to Wolfen, including work to renew and adapt the stations of Dessau-Süd, Marke, Raguhn, Jeßnitz and Wolfen. On 5 December 2010,
electronic interlocking
In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively re ...
s were put into operation in Dessau and Raguhn, which replaced all other signal boxes on the section between Dessau and Wolfen. Between the spring of 2012 and the summer of 2013, further work was carried out on the section between Güterglück and Roßlau. Here, the second track was restored between Neeken and Roßlau, Zerbst and Rodleben stations were rebuilt and the overhead contact lines and the signalling systems were renewed. An electronic interlocking for this section of line was built in Güterglück. The remodelling of Roßlau station is planned.
Between early 2010 and mid-2013, alterations were carried out between
Leipzig Messe and Leipzig Hauptbahnhof for the integration of the
Leipzig City Tunnel
The City Tunnel is a twin-bore railway tunnel for the city-centre S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland, S-Bahn in Leipzig. It links Leipzig Hauptbahnhof with the central Leipzig Markt station, Markt station, Leipzig Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz railway station, Wi ...
in place of the existing route. In this context, the new
Leipzig Nord (planning name: ''Theresienstraße'') station at Berliner Bridge was brought into operation at the end of 2013 together with the City Tunnel. The route to Bitterfeld was integrated into the network of the
S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland
S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland represents an enlargement of the previous Leipzig-Halle S-Bahn. It is an electric rail public transit system operating in the metropolitan area of Leipzig-Halle, Germany. This S-Bahn (German abbreviation for ''Stadtschnel ...
. By 2017, further development is planned within the city of Leipzig as part of German Unity Transport Project 8.3.
Route
The line (6411), as defined by Deutsche Bahn, begins as the immediate continuation of the
Biederitz–Trebnitz railway (6410) with the 0.0 kilometre point (at the line change) at the former Trebnitz
block post
A block post in railway signalling is the signal box at one end of a block section.
German practice
In Germany, block posts are known as ''Blockstellen'' (abbreviation: ''Bk'') and are defined as railway facilities on the open line that mark the ...
, north of the village of the same name. It runs straight to Roßlau in a southeasterly direction through the fertile corridor between the
Fläming Heath
The Fläming Heath is a region and hill chain that reaches over 100 km from the Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of t ...
and the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
and through Zerbst, running substantially parallel to
national highway 184 (B184), which it at crosses at Rodleben. On the northwestern outskirts of Roßlau there is a junction to the north with a connecting curve to Roßlau marshalling yard and the
lines to Wiesenburg and
Falkenberg/Elster
Falkenberg () is a town in the Elbe-Elster district, in southwestern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated near the river Schwarze Elster, 16 km east of Torgau, and 13 km northwest of Bad Liebenwerda.
History
It was first mentioned in 1 ...
, while this line turns south and runs to
Roßlau (Elbe) station
Roßlau (Elbe) station is a passenger station and freight yard in the district of Dessau-Roßlau, Roßlau of the city of Dessau in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Infrastructure
The station building is located on the east side of the tracks. P ...
. The line passes under the B 184 before Roßlau station and the line crosses the Elbe on a truss bridge just south of the station. After about two kilometres, following a section on a long bridge, the line crosses of the
Mulde
The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long.
The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (with ...
and its flood plain. At
Dessau Hauptbahnhof
Dessau Hauptbahnhof is the main passenger station in the city of Dessau-Roßlau in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Location
The station is located to the south of the Elbe and to the west of central Dessau. It is a through station, orientated ...
, the line again passes under the B 184, which runs north and south of the city largely parallel to the line.
At the southern exit of Dessau Hauptbahnhof, the
line to Köthen branches off to the west and about three kilometres later the line reaches Dessau repair shop (
Ausbesserungswerk
An Ausbesserungswerk (abbreviation AW or Aw) is a railway facility in German-speaking countries, the primary function of which is the repair (and formerly also the construction) of railway vehicles or their components. It is thus equivalent to a ...
). Between Dessau-Haideburg and Marke the line runs through a wooded area, and approximately half-way through it,
national highway 9
Route 9, or Highway 9, may refer to:
International
* European route E09
* European route E009
Albania
* SH-9 Road in Albania.
Argentina
* National Route 9 (Argentina), National Route 9
Australia New South Wales
* A9 (Sydney)
South Austra ...
passes under the line. The line follows the cultivated part of the Mulden valley until
Raguhn
Raguhn is a town and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Mulde, approximately northwest of Bitterfeld and south of Dessau. Since 1 January 2010, it has been ...
, but the industrial area around
Bitterfeld-Wolfen
Bitterfeld-Wolfen () is a town in the district Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in south-eastern Saxony-Anhalt, west of the river Mulde, in an area that is dominated by heavy industry and lignite mining. The town was forme ...
begins in
Jeßnitz
Jeßnitz ( is a town and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Mulde, north of Bitterfeld
Bitterfeld () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Ge ...
. In Bitterfeld the
line from Stumsdorf, which is used only for freight traffic, runs from the west while the
Berlin–Halle railway
The Berlin–Halle railway, sometimes called the Anhalt railway (German: ''Anhalter Bahn''), is a twin-track, electrified main line found in the German city and state of Berlin, and the states of Brandenburg and Sachsen-Anhalt. The railway was or ...
runs from the north through the Mulde valley. The latter line runs parallel for about two kilometres from Bitterfeld station until the vicinity of Holzweißig, where it crosses over using a
flying junction
A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is "gr ...
and runs away to the southeast towards Halle. Near Petersroda the line passes Ludwigsee and the Neuhäuser See (lakes) at a distance and it then crosses the border with
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
. After crossing the
Lober, the line again returns to its original route and soon reaches Delitzsch with its repair shop and
Delitzsch unterer (lower) station. South of Delitzsch the line run almost straight to the outskirts of Leipzig and passes under federal highway 184 and
autobahn 14. Near the
Leipzig Trade Fair
The Leipzig Trade Fair (german: Leipziger Messe) is a major trade fair, which traces its roots back for nearly a millennium. After the Second World War, Leipzig fell within the territory of East Germany, whereupon the Leipzig Trade Fair became o ...
(''Messe''), the
Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway
The Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway is a -long high-speed line in Germany between Erfurt and Leipzig and Halle.
It is listed in Germany's Federal Transport Plan (''Bundesverkehrswegeplan'') as " German Unity Rail Project no 8.2" ('' ...
approaches from the west. After
Leipzig Messe station
Leipzig Messe (german: Bahnhof Leipzig Messe) is a railway station located in Leipzig, Germany, serving the Leipzig Trade Fair. The station is located on the Trebnitz–Leipzig railway. The train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn. Since De ...
, the
old line from Halle approaches from the same direction, together with the
freight ring. The latter turns to the east at Eutritzsch towards Engelsdorf, while the
line from Eilenburg comes from the same direction. After a slight change of direction to the southwest, the line reaches
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (Leipzig main station, ) is the central railway terminus in Leipzig, Germany, in the district Mitte. At , it is Europe's largest railway station measured by floor area. It has 19 overground platforms housed in six iron train ...
near to the centre of its many tracks.
Infrastructure
As part of the re-equipment with
Punktförmige Zugbeeinflussung
PZB or Indusi is an intermittent cab signalling system and train protection system used in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Israel, Serbia, on two lines in Hungary, on the Tyne and Wear Metro in the United Kingdom, and formerly on th ...
("intermittent train protection”), the remaining
semaphore
Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...
and
colour light signals
A railway signal is a visual display device that conveys instructions or provides warning of instructions regarding the driver’s authority to proceed. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly. Typically, a signal mi ...
were replaced. As part of the upgrading of the whole line to allow operations at 200 km/h between 1992 and 1999, it was equipped with
electronic interlocking
In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively re ...
s. Since then, continuous reversible operations have been possible as only ''Ks'' signals (''Kombinationssignal''), the most modern system of colour light signals in Germany, are used. All level crossings have been eliminated and replaced by new bridges.
To test and adapt the new European standard signalling and control system, Deutsche Bahn installed
European Train Control System
The European Train Control System (ETCS) is the signalling and control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). It is a replacement for legacy train protection systems and designed to replace the many incompatible s ...
(ETCS) Level 2 on part of this line for the first time in Germany. The 2418/2419 pair of
Intercity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
trains operated on trial scheduled services equipped with ETCS at up to 200 km/h from 26 May 2006.
On 17 June 2006, for the first time in Europe, a scheduled service, operated under ETCS, was recorded at 200 km/h.
Operations
Since 2006, there have been no long-distance trains north of Bitterfeld. In the current timetable (as of 15 December 2013) the following trains run:
Regional services RB54 and RB86 overlap between Dessau and Bitterfeld and RB54 and RB57 overlap between Bitterfeld and Leipzig to give an hour service in Bitterfeld.
The trains on line S2 of the
S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland
S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland represents an enlargement of the previous Leipzig-Halle S-Bahn. It is an electric rail public transit system operating in the metropolitan area of Leipzig-Halle, Germany. This S-Bahn (German abbreviation for ''Stadtschnel ...
run hourly between Bitterfeld and Leipzig, but only between Delitzsch and Leipzig on weekends.
References
External links
* Information and photographs a
Umbau des Bahnknotens Dessau/Roßlauan
Muldequerungat ''baustellen-doku.info''
Information and photographs on the Leipzig City-Tunnelat ''citytunnelleipzig.info''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trebnitz-Leipzig railway
Railway lines in Saxony
Railway lines in Saxony-Anhalt
Railway lines opened in 1857
Buildings and structures in Dessau
Buildings and structures in Dessau-Roßlau